Downward dog, cobra, kneeling half-plies… Yoga teacher Chrystel imposes a sustained pace on her students at Fleury-Mérogis prison (Essonne). Above all, she explains, they must not “be given time” to “think” about their confinement.
For Montout (last name changed), 24 years old, this is the last session.
In a few days, he will leave the Unit for Violent Prisoners (UDV) of Europe’s largest remand center to serve the remainder of his sentence in another establishment.
His long dreadlocks tied in a bun, he conscientiously sprays a gymnastics mat.
The teacher calls out to him:
– Have you finished your little cleaning?
– I like it when it’s clean.
Two sun salutations, Montout catches his feet with ease.
– When you get out of prison, are you going to do yoga?
– Yeah, I’ll follow you on Snap!
Montout was placed in the UDV for having attacked a prisoner and an officer.
Along with a handful of other prisoners considered to be very aggressive, he was isolated and monitored for six months by a dedicated team. The aim: to reduce his level of violence before sending him back to the other prisoners.
– “Relaxation moment” –
According to the prison administration, 28% of people who passed through a UDV in 2022 – there are ten in France – reoffended within three months following their release from the unit. Fleury management sees this as “an encouraging development”.
Within its walls, Montout, who has been behind bars since he was 15, discovered yoga. “I thought we only did weird positions and women’s stuff, but it’s super physical.”
After an hour, he lies down sweating.
It’s his “relaxing time” of the week.
Usually it only lasts a moment. Montout feels spied on by the supervisor posted behind the glass door, who quickly reminds him of the reality of his incarceration.
There, he abandons himself, his face turned towards the window.
“Try to embrace all the space you’ve created in this session,” the teacher whispers. “You’re going to start to become aware of where you are.”
The inmate gets up, a frank smile reveals his messy teeth. “I can’t wait to get out of the UDV to get some fresh air, see people.”
The young man remembers his arrival in the unit. “A real shock.” The guards’ shields, systematic pat-downs and handcuffing…
“I went from a detention center in Rouen, with four walks a day and an XBOX (game console) in my cell to nothing.”
– “Exceptional supervisors” –
Today, officers describe him as a “model inmate.” He even gets to share his daily walk time with a buddy.
This company distracts him, but does not beautify the small courtyard with tiled walls, covered with a triple fence. “It’s like a cage. You can’t even see the sky.”
Montout assures that the UDV has not changed him.
“The difference does not come from me, but from the supervisors who are exceptional here,” he says of the 17 agents assigned to monitor his ten inmates. Tailor-made, when a guard usually manages nearly 200 prisoners.
This qualitative work is made possible, according to testimonies from agents at AFP, by the reinforced security measures put in place in the unit.
The cells are only opened in the presence of three officers. The prisoners are gradually uncuffed and regularly change cells.
Questioned by AFP, the International Prison Observatory (IPO) warned of “a vicious circle” of violence, fueled by a “de-responsibility” of prisoners who must “ask permission for everything” and be “accompanied” for each trip.
These measures, decried by those who undergo them, are however appreciated by the agents, who feel safe enough to create a bond with prisoners whom they consider “usually unmanageable”.
At the UDV, “I started to confide, to laugh” with the guards, observes Montout. “There is no corruption. Several have already told me +Courage+… They are not being smart, they are not trying to finish us off.”
His placement seemed so beneficial that management suggested extending it for three months, to further the work undertaken on his brutality.
The proposal did not have the expected effect. Montout felt trapped and declined all activities.
“They don’t see that by isolating me, they are creating blockages to sociability in my home,” he annoys to AFP. “When I leave the UDV, the first inmate who wants to test me, I’m going to unleash all my nerves on him, I’m going to smash him.”
Gone, the serenity of the “yoga mat”.
